SKAGIT COUNTY, Wash. — In 2021, the Skagit River overflowed and flooded a majority of the town of Hamilton, including this post office which has been closed ever since.
The U.S. Postal Service said it plans to open the doors soon, but residents of Hamilton aren't so hopeful.
There's a stark difference of activity if you walk across the street from the closed up and locked up Post Office.
It’s the lunch rush at Hamilton Café and Store, and bustling throughout is Mandy Bates who owns the busy Skagit County establishment. She says she is also the cook, cleaner, shopper and shelf-stocker.
“Do you know how hard it is to run a business when you don’t have a post office?” said Bates.
After two long years of being closed, the U.S. Postal Service and Senator Patty Murray said in an email that Hamilton’s post office will reopen Monday, Nov. 20.
"I’ll believe it when I actually see it,” Bates said. It's a promise that Bates said has been broken before.
"She said it would open on October 30th, but October 30th came and went," Bates said.
On Oct. 13, Sen. Murray sent a letter to a Hamilton City Council member, stating USPS confirmed service would resume at the end of the month. Now, in mid-November, the doors are still locked.
Bates, who holds another title as the town's mayor, said it impacted their election and is costing the town money.
"We had a lot of people who didn’t get their ballots, so we told them to go to townhall and we started printing them off," she said.
To get mail, people have to drive 26 miles roundtrip to another city. It's a feat harder for some.
“I’m going blind, so I can’t really drive anymore,” said Donnali Chiplei, who missed bills and other important documents she was supposed to receive in the mail.
In a statement, the USPS said the delay was due to a “few remaining work items which need to be completed before service resumes."
“Our overall hope is to have our post office up and running so we can have a complete town and be treated as any town is treated,” said Bates.
The area has flooded many times before and will surely flood again. With the new Monday opening date, the goal now for neighbors is to prevent another two-year closure from happening.